June 23 (UPI) — Japan mourned the 78th anniversary of the Battle of Okinawa, one of the fiercest conflicts in World War II, on Friday while addressing tensions over a more aggressive China.
The Okinawa prefecture government held a minute of silence for the more than 200,000 people killed in the Battle of Okinawa, which ended on June 23, 1945, with the suicide of the local commander of the old Japanese Imperial Army.
The names of 365 victims were newly carved into stone monuments at a park in the city of Itoman, placing the total at 242,046.
As the nation observed the solemn anniversary, some feared openly that Okinawa could end up on the frontlines of a new conflict with China, which has claimed islands that Tokyo has controlled for years.
“People in the prefecture are greatly concerned,” Okinawa’s Gov. Denny Tamaki said during a commemoration event in Naha, calling for “peaceful diplomacy and dialogue” to resolve growing regional tensions. Japan has been moving to boost defenses since December.
Tamaki called for the U.S. military presence in Okinawa, which supports 70% of the U.S. military personnel in Japan, to be reduced and for plans to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa to be canceled.
“[The plan] reminds residents of the fierce ground battle and is creating great anxiety among them,” Tamaki said.
Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also attended the commemoration event and emphasized that “the security environment surrounding our country is currently at its most tense and complicated since the war.”
Japan has been shifting defense assets on islands to its southwest because of China’s tensions with Taiwan and Beijing’s insistence on claiming the Senkaku Islands, a group of long-held Tokyo-controlled uninhabited islets.